Senior linebacker for South Florida. 2018: 42 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.
6′2″ · 227 lb · Jensen Beach, FL
Recruiting
OLB recruit
No. 1803 nationally · Signed with South Florida
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 linebacker for South Florida. 2018: 42 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.
Nico Sawtelle
Three seasons at South Florida, two different head coaches: Willie Taggart and Charlie Strong. The receipt on tape: 13 tackles, 2 TFL against Illinois, Week 3, 2018.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Three seasons at South Florida, 112 tackles — his college career is complete.
His career
He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2016–2018
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Willie Taggart → Charlie Strong. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: tackles for loss (88th percentile). Concern: interceptions (30th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 5.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 8.7 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 7.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brian Hartline
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2018
Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | South Florida | 42 | 20 | 7.5 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| 2017 | South Florida | 54 | 34 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 2 | -- |
| 2016 | South Florida | 16 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 112 | 65 | 12.0 | 3.5 | 2 | 3 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2018
W 34–14
vs Elon
4 TOT · 2 SOLO · 1 SACKS
With B. Barnett — 305 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 31 rush yds (8 car) · 1 TD · T. Schneider — 36 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 49 LONG
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 6 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-14vs Elon | 4 | 2 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 2 | W 49-38vs Georgia Tech | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 25-19@ Illinois | 13 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 20-13vs East Carolina | 7 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 58-42@ Massachusetts | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 25-24@ Tulsa | 7 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 20 | 7.5 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 |